


folklore

by jpnxjcs



Category: SB19 (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:40:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27893968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jpnxjcs/pseuds/jpnxjcs
Summary: “It would've been fun.. if you would've been the one..”
Relationships: John Paulo Nase | Sejun & Josh Cullen Santos, John Paulo Nase | Sejun/Felip Jhon Suson | Ken, Josh Cullen Santos/Felip Jhon Suson | Ken, Justin De Dios/John Paulo Nase | Sejun, Justin De Dios/Josh Cullen Santos, Stellvester "Stell" Ajero & Felip Jhon Suson | Ken, Stellvester "Stell" Ajero & John Paulo Nase | Sejun, Stellvester "Stell" Ajero/Josh Cullen Santos
Kudos: 5





	1. the 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A'Tin and Swifties](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=A%27Tin+and+Swifties).



Stell sighed, staring up at the ceiling as he rummaged through his train of thoughts and memories.

It had been ten years. Ten years since he last saw the love of his life, and the fragility of his heart would be tested the day after.

It was their high school reunion the following day, and there was no way he would miss that. Afterall, he was the valedictorian from their batch; of course he would be there.

But Stell had wished that he didn’t have to go. Don't get him wrong, he missed his best mates so much. But he knew he would definitely not last long especially if they were in the same room.

He broke his heart so bad all those years ago, that he never married. Same or opposite biological genders.

He never wanted to love again. There was only one person that stayed in his heart after all this time.

And he knew that the said person would never, ever, love him again.

The thought and memories flashed in his mind and his eyes almost immediately filled with tears, along with regret and hatred towards himself in his soul.

It never got better on the dreaded day.

Everyone was there as expected, but he knew who to look for.

“Uy, ayan na si Stell!” he recognized the voice as Justin's and was engulfed by the latter in a tight bear hug before he could even utter a word.

“Asan na galang mo, bujah?” he laughed when the younger pouted; it warmed his heart. Even after all these years, it was nice to know that the younger hadn't really changed much. 

“Oy, musta na dre?” Ken gave him a brief embrace and as they parted, he got a good glance on the gold band on the younger's finger.

That made him smile too. On their sophomore year, they all had joked about how Ken would never marry anyone because of how weird he was, and yet, here the younger was, sporting a simple, but life-binding band on his digit.

“Ayos lang. Ikaw?”

“Eto, kinakabahan.” Before he could ask why, Josh had run up to him and hugged him, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“I missed you.” The smaller said after letting go of him.

“Likwise. Has it been ten years na talaga? You look like you haven't aged a day.” The older laughed and blushed as Ken wrapped an arm around his waist.

He stared at the two up and down until his eyes fell to Josh's stomach.

He grinned at the couple, making a mental note to smack them in the future for taking so long before finally getting together.

“Wala namang pumapansin sa atin. Kita na lang daw tayo sa studio ni Paulo.” Hearing his name made him feel like he was stabbed repeatedly ten times on his chest.

“Valedictorian nga, tamad naman- oww, love.” Ken chuckled when the smaller rolled his eyes.

“Don't be mean. In case you forgot, he helped you with your requirements whenever you would not go to school for days.”

“In my defense, the teachers were awful.”

“Even Ms. Buenaventura?” Stell shook his head as the lovers kept arguing, filling his minds with thoughts that would keep him sane enough when he sees.. him.

“Penny for a thought?” Justin asked as he began driving.

One of the things he loved about the younger was how observant he was. He knew all four of them like the back of his hand and knew when he needed to save them from their doom.

This is one of the times that he was glad Justin knew him well.

“I'm scared,” Stell sighed, leaning back against his seat.

“Of seeing him again?” he nodded, looking out the window.

“Kuya.. mahal mo pa ba siya?” the question had caught him off guard, leaving him to stare at the younger's curious face.

“Jah..”

“You don't have to answer it now. But you better have your answer by tonight. Before it's too late.” He wanted to jump off a cliff at that moment but deep in his heart, he knew that Justin was right.

He would eventually have to face his fears, no matter how much he dreaded it.

He felt the younger hold his hand and squeeze it, giving him an eighth of a smile as they walked into the studio.

The place held a lot of memories. Their first school project when they first met, the first time Josh and Ken had developed feelings for each other despite pretending that the other didn’t exist, the first time Justin played for them, the first time Paulo had let them listen to the songs he wrote.

The first kiss he had shared with Paulo after they ditched their classes, their first time….

When they broke up.

He couldn’t stop the pain in his heart as they reached their floor, faking a smile when Paulo stood before them, his brown hair cut short and his usual smile on his lips.

“Water? Coffee? Juice?” he asked as he ushered them inside.

“Kape na lang, kuya.” Justin answered, squeezing Stell's hand for the last time before letting go.

“Juice for Josh, please, Pau.”

“Alright then.”

As they all sat on the floor of the room where they danced all those years ago, Paulo shared his story. How he got tapped by a world-renowned music producer and how he would be releasing his own album soon.

He hasn’t been dating anyone in a while and Stell couldn’t help but feel relieved somehow.

Justin was recently interviewed by a famous director that had offered him the leading role on an upcoming film. He had been working with Sharlene, his best friend, for years.

Ken pursued and dated Josh for five years before the older finally agreed to marry him. Josh was pregnant with their first child, which the couple was scared, but excited about.

“Ikaw Stell? Ano ganap sa buhay mo?” they all looked expectantly at him, even Paulo, that he couldn’t say no.

He had recently opened a new branch of his café and his first dance studio was set to open in two weeks.

He hadn’t been dating anyone either, but he was happy for Josh and Ken who looked ecstatic as they discussed their plans for the future.

Their own little reunion lasted until midnight, due to all the stories they shared and the memories they went back to.

Unfortunately, Justin had to go because he was gonna rehearse his lines, and Josh had been sleepy for hours.

Which left Stell and Paulo alone. The older had got out a bottle of Jack Daniel's and two shot glasses, giving one to Stell.

“I don't drink.”

“Neither do I. Cheers?”

“Cheers.” The two former lovers were surrounded with silence as they drank and refused to address the elephant in the room.

“How are you, Stell? For real?” Paulo asked him, not meeting his eyes.

How was he supposed to answer that?

Oh, I'm totally fine, but hey, have I mentioned that I'm still in love with you even though I'm the reason we broke up?

“It wasn’t your fault, Stell..”

Shit. Did I say that out loud?

“I had my faults and flaws too. I wasn’t a good enough boyfriend to you.” That triggered something in the younger male, that made him feel protective and defensive towards his former lover.

“Pau, no. No, you were the best boyfriend I could ever have. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

See, that’s the thing, Stell. I did do something wrong. I just wasn’t the man of your dreams.

Though whispered, the statement shocked Stell. So many questions ran through his mind.

Why would he say that? How could he think like that?

“Paulo..” 

“Stell, sorry. Sorry hindi kita naipaglaban noon. I'm sorry I wasn’t enough for you.” He sobbed.

Stell pressed a kiss on the crown of his head, sighing as he soothed the older male in his arms.

“I'm sorry I couldn’t be the one for you..” the older whispered, burying himself further into the younger's arms.

That's the thing, Paulo. You were the one.

You've always been the one.


	2. cardigan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone's bed.. you put me on and said I was your favourite.."

“And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said I was your favourite..”

.-.

Josh smiled and hummed when he felt someone’s arms wrap around his waist.

“You're home late again,” he softly murmured, squeezing the hand that gently pinched his waist.

“You're sleeping with no bottoms again,” the other retorted, chuckling when the older huffed after he had squeezed his ass.

“I barely have any clothes here, Justin. And I washed your sheets.” He crinkled his nose, remembering the faint smell of a woman's intoxicating perfume left behind.

“You didn’t have to.”

“I'm not sleeping on the bed where memories of your last fling was.” Justin sighed, breath tickling the older's neck.

“She insisted to go here.”

“You mean she manipulated you.” The younger left a trail of soft kisses on the noirette's shoulders, smiling to himself at the feel of his soft, creamy skin beneath his chapped lips.

“She won't ever again, love. I promise.” The older huffed but turned around and faced him, eyes widening at the close proximity of their faces.

The younger caressed his cheek and smothered kisses all over his face, giving his lips a soft peck.

“Have you eaten yet?” the older asked, untangling himself from his new lover.

“Not yet. Have you? You didn’t stay up late without eating, did you?” the older blushed, playing with the hem of the top he wore.

“I was waiting for you..” deep inside him, a feeling of warmth began to spread and thaw out his stone cold heart.

He never got soft. Not with his mother or father or his bed buddies. No one ever knew about his soft side. And he had no intentions of showing it to anyone.

His childhood wasn’t that pretty, though his family had money. He didn’t want that. He just wanted to live like a normal person.

His high school years never got better. His schoolmates (assholes, as he often described them whilst disregarding their gender) befriended him only for his money. He became the most popular guy in school.

During all those years, he had learned to shut everyone out from his heart, where they could hurt him. He couldn’t care less about what they would feel.

Until he met Josh.

Josh Cullen Santos, bless him. He had to admit, the older male annoyed him to the bottom of his core when they first met. His friends annoyed the hell out of Justin, too.

They were good looking and unique in their own ways, but the older definitely stood out to him the most.

He found his height strangely adorable, though the smaller was shy about it. He also found his eyes beautiful, hypnotic even.

That made Josh blush a deep crimson colour, and Justin made a mental note to keep reminding the older, just to see his beauty.

He didn’t think that he would fall almost immediately, but he did. And he didn’t think to regret anything.

Well.. he does have one. In their one year, or rather, one day, of being in a relationship, he only had a single regret.

He had picked the older up from his evening classes, and he'd had a shitty day.

It was their one year anniversary and he wanted to celebrate it by taking his lover out of town.

He doesn’t exactly remember how it started, but all their yelling and Josh's sobbing played out and rung in his ears once again.

He was completely broken that night. Josh, his one true love, had left him, which left a hole in his heart in return.

Because of that, he went back to his old ways. He stopped going to school, slept with different men and women each night, drank and treated alcohol as if it was water, and stopped eating actual meals.

He never slept either. Each time he would close his eyes, the memory of Josh leaving him in his car would haunt and hurt him all over again.

He sometimes touched himself and experienced powerful and intense climaxes, willing himself to imagine that it was his lost lover's hands pleasuring him.

It wasn’t a healthy habit. But he didn’t feel the need to be healthy again.

Until he and Josh bumped into each other at the bar where he would let himself be ruined.

He could still remember how shocked the older was when he saw him in his depressed state.

“Justin?..” he seemed hesitant to move closer but after taking a deep breath, he stepped closer to the taller male.

“Josh..” he haven’t cried in years but in that moment, he could care less. His eyes began filling with tears and soon fell down his pale cheeks.

He saw that Josh began welling up as well and before he could react, the older had grabbed his hand and ran them out of there, not stopping until they were in front of his car.

Before he could utter a word, the smaller’s hands checked everywhere; his forehead, his cheeks, and his neck.

He stepped back for a moment and studied the younger from head to toe. 

After a minute of deafening silence, he let out a sob and started to hit the taller’s chest with weak punches, sobbing uncontrollably.

Justin began to silently sob as well, lowering his head and accepting each blow that came from his lover.

He never complained. He deserved each hit and he knew it.

“Fuck you..” Josh whispered, burying his head in the taller's chest. “Fuck you for hurting me. Fuck you for not fighting for us. Fuck you for ruining yourself. F-fuck y-you..” he sobbed, clutching the younger male's shirt.

Justin hugged him back, choking on his own tears as he inhaled the older's scent.

He missed Josh. His hair, his body, his height.. his face. He missed him so bad.

That night, Josh took him home and told him to clean himself up. The older male ordered Chinese food and they ate in silence, the smaller urging him to sleep after resting.

When he woke up, his apartment was clean and his laundry was done, with Josh sleeping soundly in the living room.

A few days after, Josh had asked him to meet at a café. They finally talked about what went wrong in their relationship and understood their own mistakes.

It was a long shot, but Justin asked if he, they, could be given a second chance.

As expected, the older male asked if he could have the time to think about it.

And who was he to decline?

That was a week ago. And now, they were back together, with the promise of taking things slow.

They started with Justin throwing out his strong alcohol and Josh moving in with him. They slept in the same bed and often cuddled, enjoying each other's company.

While cleaning out his apartment, Josh found a cream coloured cardigan on his dresser, recalling it as the one he had given to the younger as a gift.

He always wore it, washing the valuable item of clothing every two days.

“Samgyup?”

“Of course.” As he placed the utensils they used the night before back in the drawer, Josh felt the younger’s eyes on him.

“What?”

“Nothing, just… you're wearing my cardigan again.” The younger gave him a toothy smile, a beautiful boyish grin that spread across his lips after weeks of torture.

“Oh,” Josh smiled at his lover fondly before walking over and straddling his lap. “Well, it may be my gift for you, but it’s my favourite.”

“As with me. I wore that everyday before we eventually found our way back to each other.” The younger had stood up and set him down on the ground, as slowly moving down his waist.

“May I have this dance?”

“W-we don't even have music.”

“Only because our hearts will know the perfect tune and rhythm for us.” That made Josh blush.

As his arms gingerly snaked around Justin's slender neck, he couldn’t help but get a good whiff of the younger’s scent.

He smelt of the warm breeze of the ocean, and somehow, that calmed him down.

What was strange, was that he feared the open sea. Whenever he would get close enough, he'd start to feel like he was drowning.

It was strangely perfect, because that was how he felt about their relationship before. He was afraid to let himself loose, to take a risk.

But, it turns out, with the help, a lesson learned, and a little push, maybe the open seas weren’t so awful afterall.

Justin was his life vest, his lifeboat. Justin was the one who saved him and assured him that everything would be fine.

And as they danced the night away, he realized, maybe taking a risk and learning something wasn’t really so bad afterall.


	3. the last great american dynasty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who knows if I never showed uo, what could've been?"

Ken sighed as he stared at the seemingly endless waves of water crashing by his feet.

Normally, he would've preferred living and spending the rest of his life in the city. Life seemed easier there, with the phones, the internet, the jeepneys or even a private service to take you anywhere you wanted.

But as he lifted his gaze to the endless stretch of the white sky above him, he began doubting his beliefs.

The beach was nice. The temperature of the water was perfect; not too hot, but not too cold either. Just warm enough to keep you relaxed.

The feel of sand and small, round rocks was surprisingly pleasant, despite how strange it sounds. It felt like stepping on a pebbled driveway or porch, which were often found in rich people’s homes.

The air was light, but fresh and full. It didn’t stink of smoke and other harmful gases.

The feeling of grass beneath his feet and around his lower legs felt pleasant too. It was as if they were never even there, but he felt the leaves move and brush against his legs with each breeze.

The house, well.. it was beautiful. It had been standing for a very long time, and yet it still looked like it was made the day before.

The crème exterior of the house made him feel warm and at home. Well, it was his home. But also kind of not.

See, this house was inherited to him. From his great-to however many degrees-mother. His family didn’t even know about it until a distant family member had met with the last person who it was last told about.

They were shocked to find out how much had been hidden in their past, but they didn’t complain.

They divided everything, and as the youngest, Ken got most of the things that were gonna be useful for him, hence the house.

He had gotten married a year prior to their discovery. And though the amount of meetings almost tore his then engagement apart, they thankfully made it through.

His family welcomed his new husband with such warmth that made him feel butterflies in his stomach. He didn’t even know if everything really was real until he was about to say the binding words.

“I do.”

Those words gave him a different kind of happiness. And not just that, he also felt contentment. He had finally married the man he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the moment they met.

When his husband had found out about the hidden gems in their past, he began to get curious.

He had admitted that when Ken gave him a second engagement ring, he was confused.

“It's not that I didn’t like it, mahal. It was just so unexpected.” The older had assured him on one of the nights where they would be laying on their bed after a tiring day at work.

During the Christmas time, their first Christmas together, Stell had showed him a photo album. 

It was rose coloured on the outside and contained photos of his husband’s ancestors.

He wasn’t sure why Stell had packed that but he let his husband be, making a mental note to ask at some point in the future.

He loved the smile that slid onto his husband’s lips as they arrived at the house. He began to laugh when the older almost instantly pulled him and ran towards the beach, recalling the times the latter pleaded to visit special islands for he was missing the breeze and the waves.

It was a little dusty in some places, but other than that, the interior of the house was phenomenal.

And so was the bed in their bedroom.

He confirmed that as he felt like he was literally floating in the waves as his husband made love to him for the nth time that night.

The next day, they explored the rest of the house. They found out that there were three bedrooms, and all were in the second floor.

After a long night of love-making, the topic of having children came up.

Both admitted that they were scared, as the baby would be their first, but they promised to do everything together.

And surely enough, two weeks later, Ken was pregnant with their first child.

His husband was planning on surprising him with breakfast in bed but the younger was in the bathroom, leaning over the marble toilet.

They didn’t stop crying that night. Out of happiness of course.

Their family was of course, ecstatic when they found out that they were gonna have their first grandchild from the young couple.

Their friends were very happy and supportive too, and Justin had even offered to be the child's godfather.

“You better make me a ninong or I swear, I'm locking you out of your house.” The husbands laughed at the younger, ruffling his hair and sharing a warm smile together.

There were rough times in Ken's pregnancy, but they still remained excited.

During his fourth month, his grandmother had visited them and told stories about their ancestor that loved in the house before they did.

“Katerina Laurie was the talk of the town. You see, her former husband had been a very wealthy lawyer. Your great-grandparents saw that as an opportunity to brag to others, despite how much she really loved him.

“Agustin José, of course, was infuriated. He did love her, but he refused to hear her side of the story. He began abusing her just so she would be forced to file for a divorce.

“At that time, Katie was very lost and heartbroken. She didn’t know what to do. Until Sylvestre Philip came to the picture. He loved her very dearly and understood her, but she was too far gone.”

“So, did he leave her, lola? Just like Agustin did?” His husband asked, squeezing his hand.

“No, hijo. He knew that no matter what, he had to stay beside her, even if it felt like he didn’t exist. The only time he had hope that she actually really loved him back, was on their wedding night.

“Their honeymoon. They made love all night long but when he fell asleep, she wrote him a letter. It said everything that happened to her, from her past to the unfortunate ending of her first marriage.

“She apologized for she feared that he was suffering in her hands. And he was, they both knew. But he refused to let his suffering weigh him down.

“Instead, he held his head high and kept on introducing her as his loving wife.

“But for the second time around, her whole world broke into a million pieces. His heart had given out and she couldn’t be there to at least hold his hand.

“She completely lost herself. But after weeks of mourning, she finally went back to her family and sought their help.

“She only returned when she herself knew that she was ready to step foot inside this house again. And that only happened when she signed and wrote the will.

“She passed away due to old age, but her memory lingers.” Ken was able to confirm that too.

That night, he had a dream about a woman who cried as she stood near her partner's grave. He wasn’t sure if it was her, but at the same time, he knew she had to be.

Why else would she be in his dream?

After talking with his husband, they explored the house once again in hopes to fond something relatively close to his late grandmother.

And boy, did he find something.

He found a portrait on the end of the hallway on the second floor. It was a woman being hugged by a man. At first, it didn’t seem like anything.

But as he observed longer, he realized that his late grandmother had looked like him. And her husband looked vaguely familiar too.

“Mahal, look,” his husband pointed at the wood end of the portrait and saw engraved names, still as good as it was in the past.

“ ‘Katerina Laurie Santos and husband, Sylvestre Philip..”

“Ajero? Then how come Suson is our last name now?”

“Must be from your grandfather, mahal,” he felt the older’s arms snake around his waist and his tummy. “Do you know what this means, Ken?”

“Hm?”

“That we were meant to be. You never got the last name Ajero because my lolo had passed away and lola Katerina must've married your lolo that you knew about. Hence, how you got the last name Suson.

“Pero mahal, we really were meant to be.” Ken couldn’t deny the warmth that spread across his chest after hearing his husband's words.

‘Meant to be'.

They truly were the perfect pair. Their grandparents may not have made it through with their marriage, but they were being given the chance to change that.

As he stared at his husband’s perfect face that night, he made a promise.

He went out to their balcony and stared into the open seas, hoping that his grandmother would hear him from above.

“I promise, lola. Tatapusin namin ang kuwento niyo ni lolo. Pangako po yan.” He whispered, caressing his tummy and smiling when he felt their baby kicking against his hand.

“Mm.. why are you out here, mahal? You might get cold.” He turned around and faced his husband, pressing a soft kiss on his lips.

“No reason, I just wanted fresh air for a moment.”

“Okay. Cuddles?”

“Cuddles.” As his husband held him in his arms, he couldn’t help but think about his grandmother and how and what her life could've been if things hadn’t gone wrong.

We'll make you proud, lola. I swear on my life, we will.


End file.
